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The video ended at that point, bringing to a close a sordid tale of betrayal and murder…

“Now do you remember something?” I turned to the giant food processor and said.

“Is that me… the person who got burned…” The voice quivered in disbelief. “How did I end up like this then?”

“How you ended up like that, huh…”

I don’t really have an answer to that, do I? Other than the fact that you got stuffed into a giant food processor, of course…

“This one has dug up some information on this Zuoqiu Shanming. Your Highness, would you like to have a look?” Lixiang dragged before me a 20 inch holographic screen, her pearly white fingers tapping on the upper left corner as she said, “This is his background, below that is information about his disappearance, along with some of the comments and ridicule from his detractors…”

I briefly scanned through the information, gaining a rough idea of what kind of man he was.

Zuoqiu Shanming was undoubtedly a man of righteousness. He had exposed multiple evildoers, rescuing countless people in the process. Because of that, he also offended a great deal of underworld figures, and people who were less than scrupulous with their means.

Naturally, that fellow within the video, known as Xue Guode, was one of those less than scrupulous people. He had bribed a bunch of officials into allowing a batch of unhygienic meat into the market, poisoning thousands of people, of which thirteen never recovered.

After this incident came to light, he thought he could buy his way out of the problem through his connections, yet who would have thought that Zuoqiu Shanming managed to obtain proof of his bribery and even exposed it to the world…

Xue Guode was only one of Zuoqiu Shanming’s many triumphs. There countless other shady businessmen and corrupt officials brought down by the man.

This was precisely why it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had enemies in every city on Gaia. There was not a day that went by that these evildoers did not wish to rub him out.

Yet he had also built up a great deal of popularity in his fight against the darkness of society. But he did not let his newfound fame get to his head, doubling down instead on his efforts to root out evil.

This continued till a few years back when he received a certain tip about an illegal arms dealer colluding with some high-ranking official in the Federation. He immediately set about investigating the matter and… the rest was history.

Many people viewed him as a hero to be admired, but just as many people viewed him as foolish. When news spread about his disappearance, a great number of commenters were more than happy to make fun of the man for overestimating his own abilities, for trying to reach for the sun. That was just how society was, jaded and numbed to the darkness permeating within it.

Those ********! I’m getting angry just looking at those comments myself! What are you even doing, making fun of the guy who tried to help you! Geez, you would think those evildoers paid them off…

I took a deep breath, calmed myself down, then asked, “So your name is Zuoqiu Shanming?”

“I guess so…” He hesitated for a second. But a mere moment later, his voice rose in elation. “That’s right, I’m Zuoqiu Shanming! I remember now!”

“Greetings, mister Zuoqiu, my name is Mo Ke.”

“And to you, too, lady Mo Ke. I’m Zuoqiu Shanming, a reporter… or at least, I used to be.”

Zuoqiu Shanming’s spirit seemed to have gained back some of its clarity, now that its memory was returning.

Why did he call me “lady”, though? I only told him my name, so why is he assuming my gender?

“Ermm… I’m a guy, so please don’t call me lady. I don’t like it when someone mixes up my gender.”

“A guy? Impossible.” The spirit of Zuoqiu Shanming flatly stated. “I can clearly see lady Mo Ke’s soul, and that soul is definitely that of a girl’s.”

“And how do you even differentiate between two, aren’t you just a spirit?!”

I will admit, I’m starting to lose my mind a little, right now. I get it if a bunch of commoners aren’t able to see past my appearance with their mortal eyes, but why is a ghost mistaking my gender as well?”

“Distinguishing the gender of a soul is very simple: you look at the aura.” Then, in a complimenting voice, he said, “Lady Mo Ke’s soul is practically brimming with energy, and that aura is clearly feminine. Whether in terms of appearance or the soul, I’m sure lady Mo Ke is an absolute beauty!”

“So you’re saying, even if I die, I can get by in the underworld just on my looks?”

“Even though I’m not sure why lady Mo Ke has chosen such an expression, but that is correct.”

“Do you know what I want to do now?”

“Nope.”

“I want to open up your head and see if there’s a brain in there, or is it just tofu!”

Faced with my sudden outburst, he instead chuckled self-deprecatingly. “It’s a brain, trust me.”

“… Sorry…”

When he said to trust him, I immediately regretted my words. Other than “sorry”, I did not know what else to say at that point.

“It’s all right. There’s no need to apologise. Even though I may not know why lady Mo Ke has chosen to disguise herself as a man, but I’m sure the reason is a good one.”

“I just said I’m a man!” I snapped back out of sheer force of habit. However, it was clear that this reporter fellow was the same as the others;no amount of insisting was going to convince them otherwise.

“So, mister Zuoqiu, could you tell us how you ended up in this strange state?”

“They tossed me into the machine and pressed a button, then I became like this.”

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE